Enviro-Nutters James Hansen: Governments advocating for cap and trade are 'lying through their teeth'
| 30 November 2009
Dr. James Hansen of NASA’s Goddard Institute of Space Studies is one of the most outspoken advocates of taking immediate action to stop anthropogenic global warming. In a new editorial penned for the U.K.’s The Observer, Hansen rails against the cap and trade schemes being considered, believing them to be ineffectual.
Cap and trade systems have been shown to be ineffective in combating manmade climate change and reducing CO2 emissions. The European Union has enacted such a system and it has not produced the desired results. Despite this, next month’s United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen (COP15) will seek to form some sort of a global consensus on cap and trade.
Hansen writes that, “The fraudulence of the Copenhagen approach – "goals" for emission reductions, "offsets" that render ironclad goals almost meaningless, the ineffectual "cap-and-trade" mechanism – must be exposed.”
Governments going to Copenhagen claim to have such [emissions reduction] goals for 2050, which they will achieve with the "cap-and-trade" mechanism. They are lying through their teeth.
~ Dr. James Hansen, NASA GISS
Coal continues to be the biggest enemy according to Hansen. In the past he has said, “The trains carrying coal to power plants are death trains.” He avoids such over the top hyperbole in the new editorial but reiterates his belief saying the problems caused by CO2 emissions can be solved, “if we phase out global coal emissions within 20 years and prohibit emissions from unconventional fossil fuels such as tar sands and oil shale.”
Rather than a cap and trade system, Hansen advocates for a ‘fee and dividend’ system. Such a system would put a rising price on fossil fuels over time with the eventual goal being that they would become more expensive than alternative fuels. In doing so, the alternative energy sources would become more attractive to businesses and consumers thus forcing an end to fossil fuels.
“Cap and trade is an inefficient compromise, paying off numerous special interests. It must be replaced with an honest approach, raising the price of carbon emissions and leaving the dirtiest fossil fuels in the ground,” Hansen said.
- Related: EPA lawyers equate cap and trade to Challenger disaster
- More about James Hansen: Dr. James Hansen takes final leap from scientist to activist
Cap and trade legislation has passed the United States House of Representatives and a similar measure is expected to be taken up in the Senate next year. In the United States, it has been estimated that the tax could cost the average American taxpayer up to $1,700 per year.
The prospects for the legislation in the U.S. have continued to slide with mid-term elections on the horizon and an American electorate unwilling to accept any more financial burden. Two weeks ago, world leaders conceded that a 'political agreement' was the most likely outcome from the Copenhagen meeting.
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